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Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) exam

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This exam and the exam objectives provided here are based on the Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 7 version of the exam.

The performance-based RHCSA exam (EX200) tests your knowledge and skill in areas of system administration common across a wide range of environments and deployment scenarios. You must be an RHCSA to earn a Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE®) certification. The skills tested in this exam are the foundation for system administration across all Red Hat products.

An RHCSA certification is earned when an IT professional demonstrates the core system-administration skills required in Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments.

Ways To Train/Test

Red Hat offers a method of training that is convenient to you - classroom, online, or at your site.

Red Hat reserves the right to add, modify, and remove objectives. Such changes will be made public in advance through revisions to this document.

What you need to know

Red Hat encourages all candidates for RHCSA to consider taking one or more of its official training courses to help prepare. Attendance in these classes is not required, and one can choose to take just an exam. Many successful candidates who have come to class already possessing substantial skills and knowledge report that the class made a positive difference for them.

While attending Red Hat's classes can be an important part of one's preparation, attending class does not guarantee success on the exam. Previous experience, practice, and native aptitude are also important determinants of success.

Many books and other resources on system administration for Red Hat's products are available. Red Hat does not endorse any as preparation guides for any exams. Nevertheless, candidates may find additional reading deepens understanding and can prove helpful.

Exam format

The RHCSA exam is a performance-based evaluation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux system administration skills and knowledge. Candidates perform a number of routine system administration tasks and are evaluated on whether they have met specific objective criteria. Performance-based testing means that candidates must perform tasks similar to what they must perform on the job.

The RHCSA exam is a hands-on, practical exam that lasts 2.5 hours. Internet access is not provided during the exam. Outside materials are not permitted. Documentation that ships with Red Hat Enterprise Linux is available during the exam. Red Hat reserves the right to make changes to format, including timing and the policies above. Such changes will be made public in advance through revisions to this document.